According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), U.S. employment will grow by more than 15 million jobs through 2022. However, a number of occupations and industries are expected to disappear thanks to increased automation and digitization. Internationalization of cheap labor, as well as increasing contract work, are also factors that reduce the need for full-time workers across the greater economy.
Our list of 10 most endangered jobs that are disappearing before our eyes
Travel Agent
Average Salary: $42,000
In the past era, the job of booking trips for people was a thriving business. However, with the rise of travel sites and services such as tripadvisor.com and selloffvacations.com, people can read reviews, look at destination photos and find deals in the comfort of their own home without spending a penny. Travel agents will find themselves being increasingly displaced by travel apps.
Holistic Healer
Average Salary: $86,000
Holistic healing is a field of alternative medicine that considers the whole person – body, mind, spirit, and emotions – in the quest for optimal health and wellness, instead of purely focusing on the malady. But because most holistic healing services are not covered by health insurance, the prospects for acupuncturists, homeopathic doctors and hypnotherapists are grim as they are being marginalized to niche segments. Employment rates have gone down by 44% between 2004-2009, shedding 26,000 jobs.
Floral Designer
Average Salary: $23,000
Floral designers cut and arrange live, dried, and silk flowers and greenery to make decorative displays. But with fewer people buying elaborate floral decorations and a surge in online flower delivery services, the demand for florists in traditional retail locations such as grocery stores and flower shops are dwindling. The occupation experienced -24.7% job growth from 2004-2014, and is expected to decline 8% through 2022.
Postal Service Worker
Average Salary: $36,000
Postal service workers typically include sorters, clerks and carriers who work to get physical mail delivered throughout the country. But recently, the postal industry became a poster child of declining employment, with the BLS ranking these workers as the second most endangered occupation. Thanks to widespread use of e-mail and other electronic communications, regular mail service has experienced a tremendous fall in relevance, with the sector expected to lose 26.5% of its workforce over the next decade.
Telemarketer
Average Salary: $25,800
Remember when you were eating dinner with your family as a kid and you would get endless calls from telemarketers looking to sell you something? This type of sales is simply no longer efficient and has been drastically replaced by internet and television advertising. As a result, the position is expected to lose 11% of its workforce as early as 2018. Before you breathe a sign of relief, keep in mind that all of that money is now funneled into bombarding you with ads online.
Cashier
Average Salary: $20,600
The drastic increase of digital self-checkout registers at supermarkets and retail shops has resulted in the decline of cashier services. Scanning, bagging and button pressing are tasks that customers have taken upon themselves without trouble. Students looking for part time employment or people without higher education will have to look elsewhere for employment in the future.
Print Journalist
Average Salary: $41,400
One of the biggest news in media this year was the buyout of the Financial Times Group by Japanese media conglomerate Nikkei. However, print media is expected to continue its declining trajectory as readers turn to the very same offerings that can now be found online or via app, often for free. The industry fall has had a direct impact on employed journalists, with the profession expected to shed 13% of its jobs by 2022.
Tailor
Average Salary: $28,000
Though the job of a tailor requires skill and handiwork, the profession is dying out due to competition. Tailors and seamstresses must now go up against with large retailers and clothing stores that offer free alterations alongside the purchase. This means that the steep price that tailors charge are simply uncompetitive, putting many independent tailors out of business.
Taxi Dispatcher
Average salary: $43,000
With ride-sharing apps such as Uber and even Google Maps, commuters can now call for a taxi with the touch of a button on their smartphones. All in all, dispatchers are not the only part of the taxicab business that is in peril, as the entire industry is being muscled out by independent drivers and contractors that propel the success of ride-sharing services.
Librarian
Average Salary: $54,500
The library is another arena in which automated technology is displacing the need for physical human employment. Thanks to search engines that can help identify and locate books with ease, more and more libraries are turning to technology to cut the high cost of employing a librarian. With South Korea launching the world’s first hybrid library combining digital and analogue, the trend of automating the library experience seems to be only just beginning.